Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we sift through the fallout from last night’s primaries in Massachusetts and some new developments on President Donald Trump’s campaign activity this fall.

— Adam Wollner

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Progressive Senate candidates rack up primary wins even as they get outspent

By Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman

Over the past month, a raft of progressive Senate candidates have emerged victorious from their primaries despite being heavily outspent on the airwaves.

The latest example came last night in Massachusetts, where Sen. Ed Markey, 80, comfortably fended off a challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, 47. Markey managed to overcome concerns about his age by touting his support for policies like the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All.”

Even as the incumbent in the race, Markey faced a nearly 2-1 ad spending disadvantage: Moulton and outside groups supporting him spent $7 million compared with $3.9 million from the pro-Markey side, according to AdImpact.

That gap was even wider in competitive Democratic primaries in August that featured progressive-versus-moderate clashes. In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens and supportive outside groups poured $31.3 million into ads, but she still came up short against former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, who saw $6.6 million spent on his behalf.

In Minnesota, Rep. Angie Craig held an ad spending advantage of $19.7 million to $4.7 million over Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who went on to cruise to victory. And in Florida, state Rep. Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the primary season by defeating former National Security Council aide Alex Vindman. Nixon’s campaign had spent just $66,000 on ads, compared with nearly $2.2 million for Vindman.

Having this sort of financial advantage is often critical, particularly in primary battles that don’t attract the same level of voter turnout as general elections. But these results highlight how the wind has been at the backs of many progressive candidates this year, with Democratic voters clamoring for a different brand of leadership following the party’s deflating defeat in the 2024 election.

Massachusetts incumbents survive amid a brutal primary season for congressional Democrats

Analysis by Scott Bland

In addition to Sen. Ed Markey, two other Massachusetts Democrats defeated younger challengers in their primaries last night: Reps. Stephen Lynch and Richard Neal. Notably, though, both were held to under 60% of the vote.

From 2000 to 2024, about 8.7% of House members who ran for re-election received less than two-thirds support in party primaries, according to an NBC News analysis of election data. Slightly more Republicans than Democrats faced closer races in this period, as the GOP in particular wrestled with transformation and disruption, from the tea party movement to the Donald Trump era.

In 2026, though, Democrats have been much more likely to face close primaries: Nearly 1 in 5 House Democratic incumbents got pulled below two-thirds support in their primaries, a review of this year’s results shows.